BP loses battle to halt payouts for Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster

BP has lost its battle to suspend payments to people and businesses claiming damages related to its 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster.

The British oil major claims the £5.2bn compensation pot it set aside last year is being abused by firms with no right to the cash.

It had asked a New Orleans court to halt all claims while a wider investigation concerning how the pot is distributed is carried out.

Failure: The British oil major claims the £5.2bn compensation pot it set aside last year is being abused by firms with no right to the cash

But federal judge Carl Barbier threw out the motion.

The
fund has received 184,000 claims, with the rate of applications on the
rise. BP is worried it will have to add to its claims pot.

However,
earlier this month the oil company did convince the US courts to appoint
former Federal Bureau of Investigations director Louis Freeh to
investigate the fund. But there is no deadline, by which he must report
his findings.

BP (down
0.6p at 469.8p) said it was ‘disappointed’ by the ruling ‘which we
believe is wrong under the law.’ The firm said it ‘will review all
available legal options in light of the court’s decision’.

The
Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion in 2010 killed 11 workers and
released an estimated four million barrels of oil into the Gulf of
Mexico and along the coastline.